UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 Blu-ray Movie Review

Knockout Harder.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 21, 2011

You make one mistake and you wake up with a flashlight in your face.

The title says it all. Ultimate Knockouts. Here they are, a collection of the year's most amazing one-hit wonders, the punches and kicks that ended a fight and built a legend immortalized in the annals of America's favorite and fastest-growing one-on-one sport. Inside the UFC's octagon, sculpted, hulking, or otherwise physically impressive modern-day gladiators battle one another with lightning speed, a knowledgeable grappling game, a mastery of various forms of marital arts, or some combination thereof to win the day, but sometimes all the skill in the world, all the mental and physical preparation, can't combat that one powerful blow, a single hit to the right spot at the right time that doesn't just end a fight, but ends a fight with style points and a shock factor that can't be duplicated. The knockout hit is like the walk-off home run, the touchdown to win on the final play of the game, the buzzer beater three at the end of overtime, all of which are more satisfying, memorable, and surprising than outcomes that are mere formalities or long-givens in a lopsided contest. The beauty of the UFC knockout, however, is that it can come at any time during the fight. It materializes as quickly as it defeats its opponent, capable of ending a mismatched fight in seconds, providing a lucky underdog with a surprise victory, or appearing at the end of a hard fought multi-round struggle for the ages. The UFC knockout is sport's most unpredictable weapon and, for fans of mixed martial arts, the defining element of a great fight.

The Iceman Knockethed Out.

UFC fighters spend their careers training for months -- years, even -- on end for a potential moment of glory inside the octagon. Their training and dedication to the sport goes without saying, but all of their hard work may be erased in the blink of an eye or, perhaps better said, the flash of a knockout hit. UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 is a collection of fight highlights that go to show that all the training in the world can't save even the most dedicated, muscular, smart, and quick fighter from the raw devastation of the knockout blow. UFC commentator Mike Goldberg hosts this rapid-fire collection that highlights over two dozen of the best knockouts. He introduces each clip with a background that explores the history leading up to the fight. Occasional fighter interviews are included, too, and many of the fights pick up somewhere after the opening bell. UFC superstars like Chuck Liddell, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Matt Hughes, Mirko Cro Cop, Shogun Rua, and Anderson Silva are among those fighters featured on both ends of the knockout punch.

While there's an undeniable attraction to the release, UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 is perhaps a video tailored more to dedicated UFC fans than it is to casual observers. That doesn't mean that there isn't a broad appeal to the lightning-fast hits and subsequent knockdowns, but this release is little more than a highlight reel of one small aspect -- albeit one of the most electrifying and memorable aspects -- of the sport of mixed martial arts. It's not necessarily a good introductory video for newcomers who want to gauge what the UFC is all about and determine their interest level in the sport. That's better left to titles that feature full-length fights and events rather than compilation highlights. Not every UFC fight ends with the knockout, but the knockout's power, uniqueness, unpredictability, and entertainment factor do make this collection a given for dedicated fight fans. The disc is, as is always the case with UFC titles, crisply edited, fast-moving, and focused on the task at hand. There are some incredible knockouts that rival the best of either of Anchor Bay/Zuffa's previous "knockout"-themed Blu-ray releases. What's better, the material feels fresh and exciting even if the program is fairly repetitive and not at all dissimilar to either of the above-referenced titles. This is a meaty, exciting, and no frills sort of release that delivers exactly what it promises, a collection of ultimate knockouts, UFC style.

Knockouts from the following fights are featured in Ultimate Knockouts 9:

• Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
• Luiz Cane vs. Cyrille Diabate
• Melvin Guillard vs. Waylon Lowe
• Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
• Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
• Tyson Griffin vs. Takanori Gomi
• Fredson Paixao vs. Pablo Garza
• Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
• Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
• Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
• Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop
• Mark Hominick vs. George Roop
• Matt Mitrione vs. Tim Hague
• Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
• Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn
• Karo Parisyan vs. Dennis Hallman
• Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig
• Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle
• Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares
• Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
• CB Dollaway vs. Mark Munoz
• Thiago Tavares vs. Shane Roller
• Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson
• Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero
• Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
• Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Erik Koch
• Mirko Cro Cop vs. Brendan Schaub
• Shogun Rua vs. Jon Jones
• Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Anchor Bay presents UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 in another quality 1080i, 1.78:1-framed Blu-ray release. The image is nicely detailed. Viewers will see the fine details of a creased and bloody mat, the textures of clothes, and the gory details of bloody bodily wounds and gashes. Strong clarity aids in the crisp and well-defined revealing of all of the tattoos on the fighters' exposed bodies. Colors are vibrant; whether bright red blood smeared on the mat or dripping from various facial gashes; the Harley-Davidson, Edge Shaving Gel, or Bud Light advertisements on the mat; or the various ads and colors seen on fighters' trunks; the image yields a balanced and pleasant palette that serves the material well. Blacks are fine, evident as the background crowds fade into darkness. The image does suffer through some light blockiness and a few minor jagged edges, but this is certainly a steady, reliable image that's of the same quality of the typical new UFC/Anchor Bay release.

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 punches through speakers with a basic but satisfactory Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The track is in no way audibly spectacular, but it gets through the basics with ease. Commentator dialogue is at the heart of the track; its presentation is crisp and grounded within the confines of the center channel, whether the narrated introductions to the knockout highlights or the general play-by-play and color commentary that play through the fight clips. The track's music, which plays in between fights and over some interviews, enjoys sound clarity and a good sense of natural space across the front speakers. Ambient cheering crowd noise is present and accounted for but doesn't exactly make for an immersive experience; listeners won't mistake the living room for a ringside seat, but the ambience does add a pleasant and authentic element to the overall viewing experience. This is a simple but simply effective presentation; it accomplishes all that the material requires with ease and clarity to spare.

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 features only a UFC promo reel (1080i) and Total TKOs (1080i), a rapid-fire highlight reel of extra UFC action.

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 9 is a focused and entertaining video, but it's best enjoyed as a supplementary piece of a larger collection. It's not the best choice to serve as an introduction to UFC and Mixed Martial Arts because it focuses on only one aspect of the sport rather than capturing the essence of both what it's all about and of the people who fight in the octagon. Still, for the dedicated UFC fanatic, this video delivers everything it should, showcasing over 30 of the most powerful and memorable knockouts from around the UFC. Fans who want to experience all over again the best of the best knockouts from the year that was will find much value in this dedicated collection. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Ultimate Knockouts 9 features the same good video and 2.0 lossy sound that longtime fans familiar with the Blu-ray/UFC marriage have come to expect. It's a little short on extras, but fans will want to make this a part of their growing UFC on Blu-ray collections. Recommended.